Design an IR light beam trip for Digital Photography

I need to photograph a wildlife visitor to my garden by setting up my canon 20D digital SLR focussed at a point where I think the visitor is going to pass. When the visitor breaks the beam the camera will operate. Is there a IR tranceiver that is out there off the shelf or can someone offer me advice to produce one?

Many thanks

Dain

The problem with questions like this is there is no simple answer. The problem is triggering the camera, even when the camera is set for fully manual operation. I have a few Canon cameras an older EOS 10D and the newer EOS 7D and still don't know what pins do what as to the remote.

For your situation it becomes east to suggest a remote IR sensor like a PIR with a narrow focus. Go to Radio Shack (or the like) and buy a Parallex Passive Infrared Motion Sensor and work from there to trigger the camera. You can get a nice 20 foot range. The problem becomes how to interface the trigger signal to the camera. Now if you have two pins and can say I need a logic high or low then it gets easy.

Ron

Ron,
Many thanks for your help, It was a stab in the dark with this type of question and thanks for having a go. I didnt really want to strip down my camera body to ascertain the switches but I might have to get an old broken body from ebay. I will try to aquire the PIR and try to work out the switch, as you say if it is a logic switch then I am laughing.

Many thanks for your time Ron

Happy New Year

Dain

dainlewis said:

I need to photograph a wildlife visitor to my garden by setting up my canon 20D digital SLR focussed at a point where I think the visitor is going to pass. When the visitor breaks the beam the camera will operate. Is there a IR tranceiver that is out there off the shelf or can someone offer me advice to produce one?

Many thanks

Dain

Click to expand...

Your Canon 20D camera has a built-in N3 port, which will trigger the camera when the shutter pins arre connected. Go to Canon: Canon N3 Connector Pin-Out to read about how the port works. This should give you some ideas as to how to connect your IR sensor so that it will trigger the camera when it detects your visitor.
If the visitor is a mammal (warm-blooded), then an IR sensor would probably work, assuming that the sensor is sensitive enough to detect the animal's body heat. You didn't say how large your friend is, but the smaller the animal, the less heat it will give off, and the more sensitive your sensor has to be.
A IR detector made for burglar alarms might do the job if its sensitivity can be adjusted sufficiently. When you shop for one, make sure it has s digital or switch output such that it is a logic 0 of "low" or a switch closure when it is activated.

Cheers,
Dave M

Dave

Thanks a bunch as that is the connector on my EOS 7D. I did try using it but I could only get auto-focus to work, I have to try more later. Likely I could set up manual with a F Stop to allow a good depth of field and see what happens. The Parallex sensor I mentioned earlier may be a good candidate to work with as I have one of those. Thanks again for the pinout.

Ron

Ron, read the page that I referenced earlier. You were toying with the FOCUS pin in the N3 connector. There is another pin that trips the shutter. Here's what the pinout of the connector looks like:

The N3 connector pin-out (looking at the N3 connector on the camera):
What this pin-out means is that if you short the right and the top pin, the camera will focus (in AF mode). If you short the left and top pin, the shutter will release.

Cheers,
Dave M

OldTechie said:

Ron, read the page that I referenced earlier. You were toying with the FOCUS pin in the N3 connector. There is another pin that trips the shutter. Here's what the pinout of the connector looks like:

The N3 connector pin-out (looking at the N3 connector on the camera):

Top - ground Left - shutter Right - focus​

What this pin-out means is that if you short the right and the top pin, the camera will focus (in AF mode). If you short the left and top pin, the shutter will release.

Cheers,
Dave M

Click to expand...

I tried both. The focus worked for me but the shutter trip didn't. May have just been me, when I have more time I'll mess with it a little more. Wish I had a mating connector or some tiny female sockets to make one.

Ron

Dave,
Many thanks for the gen, gives me lots to play with, am I right in thinking that the PIR sensor will not work by breaking the beam if I set up a break the beam trip. I think my visitor is either an otter or a mink. Need it to pass through a point in a track so I can photograph it.

thanks again guys

Dain

Hi Dain

Actually what I had in mind was something like this PIR sensor which can be had pretty easily. Using a sensor like this, there is no beam to break, they work like those security lights you see that automatically turn on when they detect a person / animal in their field of view. I know mine triggers for animals as small as rabbits.

Also, as you mention an IR beam approach could likely be used, especially if this will be used during evening (dark) hours. The only downside to an IR beam (especially in daylight) is the ambient light and getting good distance between transmitter and receiver. This can be overcome by using a modulated IR beam like the way a TV remote works, just involves more parts. Pre built transmitters and receivers can be had I believe relatively easy.

I looked at my EOS 7D and although my connector orientation is not quite like the link OldTechie linked to, it seems to work.

The configuration leads me to believe the sensor (either type) could be used to turn on a single NPN transistor like the 2N3904 to fire the shutter. I read about 3.1 to 3.3 volts from either the focus or shutter pins to ground. Thus using a 2N3904 NPN (or any common NPN switching transistor) with the collector connected to the shutter release pin and the emitter to the ground pin should work. The sensor would be configured to provide a low to high output and that would drive the transistor base.

Really wish I had a mating N3 connector for the one on the camera body. Damn, not going to be easy to get on those tiny pins.

Hopefully I can play around with this over the weekend.

Ron

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Dain

Reloadron said:

Really wish I had a mating N3 connector for the one on the camera body. Damn, not going to be easy to get on those tiny pins.

Hopefully I can play around with this over the weekend.

Ron

Click to expand...

Hi Ron,

you probably don't have to go the problematic way finding a matching connector to trigger the camera.

Some cameras have a mechanical trigger plug which connects to a bowden cable (remote camera trigger).

Using a small solenoid pushing the button of the remote trigger will be the easiest way without the risk of damaging the camera.

PIR motion sensors are hard to adjust for small animals. I installed one of those to open the "cat's door" built into the cellar door. Besides opening for the cat it also opened for rats.

That was not what I intended and I removed the sensor waiting for the cat to cry when she wanted to enter the house.

Kind regards

Boncuk

Thanks Hans. Unfortunately no thread for bowden cable on these. Loved the part about the cat. Yeah, slight problem distinguishing between Cat and Rat.

Worst case I have connector sockets at work but don't return there till Tuesday. That being fine with me. Damn pins in there are tiny! I could just get an el' cheapo remote and do some surgery on it based on the provided links.

Ron